One of the police officers involved in the arrest of golfer Scottie Scheffler has been accused of stealing thousands of dollars from a civilian during a traffic stop.
During a stop in Louisville at Taylor Boulevard, Javar Downs reportedly found an envelope containing $10,000 in cash.
When the envelope was eventually confiscated to find further evidence, it was said to contain only $6,000 in cash.
The Louisville Police Department placed Downs on energy suspension and are continuing the investigate the matter. The recently a statement shortly after the incident.
“LMPD prioritizes accountability and remains committed to conducting thorough and expedient investigations in the best interests of all parties involved.”
Downs was one of the officers on the scene during Scheffler’s infamous arrest in May outside of the Valhalla Golf Club ahead of the 2024 PGA Championships.
Scheffler was trying to avoid heavy traffic and was charged with second-degree assault of a police officer after failing to comply with instructions. None of the three officers involved in the arrest, including officer Bryan Gillis and Downs, had their body cams turned on.
“”Detective Gillis did not have his body-worn camera operationally ready as required by our policy,” Valhalla Golf Club police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said. “He was performing a law-enforcement action as defined in our policy.
“Further, section 4.31.7 states members will maintain their BWC in constant state of operational readiness.. Detective Gillis should have turned on his body-worn camera but did not. His failure to do so is a violation of LMPD policy on uniforms and equipment.”
Who is Scheffler? The American won both the 2022 and 2024 Masters Championships at took home the gold medal in golf at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Most recently he finished seventh at the 2024 Open Championships.
After the arrest from Downs and Gillis, Scheffler still managed to finish tied for eighth at the 2024 PGA Championships. He finished eight strokes behind winner Xander Schauffele.
“As I stated previously, this was an unfortunate misunderstanding,” Scheffler said of the arrest. “I hold no ill will towards officer Gillis. I wish to put this incident behind me and move on, and I hope he will do the same.”
“Police officers have a difficult job and I hold them in high regard,” he continued sympathetically. “This was a severe miscommunication in a chaotic situation.”
The charges against Scheffler were dropped and he was cleared of any wrongdoing on May 29 (12 days after the original incident). The case against Downs is still ongoing.
Follow us to see more useful information, as well as to give us more motivation to update more useful information for you.
Source: USA Today
